 "Sanju Samson scored a 39-ball half-century against Zimbabwe on Sunday to propel India to a 42-run win in the fifth T20. AP")
Bowlers were at the forefront of yet another clinical display from the Shubman Gill-led Indian team as they defeated Zimbabwe by 42 runs in the fifth and final T20I in Harare on Sunday to clinch the series 4-1. After India had won the toss in each of the previous four matches of the series, that jinx was broken on Sunday after Sikandar Raza won the toss and asked the Men in Blue to bat first.
It wasn’t the best of starts from the Indian batters —Yashasvi Jaiswal (12), Abhishek Sharma (14) and Shubman Gill (13) were all dismissed in the powerplay, but India found a saviour in Sanju Samson, who played a composed knock of 58 from 45 deliveries to set the platform. The Kerala batter’s valiant knock changed the complexion of India’s innings as it took the visitors to 167/6 from 20 overs.
In reply, Zimbabwe were all out for 125 in 18.3 overs as their batting lineup let them down once again.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIndia’s bowlers struck right from the early phase of Zimbabwe’s chase — Mukesh Kumar struck in the first over of the chase, cleaning up Wesley Madhevere with a length delivery, before the pacer struck again in the third over with the wicket of Brian Bennett, who was caught by Shivam Dube at third man. Bennett had got off to a confident start by hitting Deshpande for a couple of boundaries in the second over, but was undone by the bounce of Mukesh’s delivery in the third over.
As it happened | India vs Zimbabwe 5th T20I, Harare
For a moment, it seemed like Dion Myers would replicate what he did a couple of matches ago, when he had registered his maiden T20I fifty. Myers produced a similar effort on Sunday and had he built on the 44-run stand with Tadiwanashe Marumani, or at least found enough support from Sikandar Raza (8), Zimbabwe would have still been on track for a consolation win.
What swung the pendulum in India’s favour was Dube’s dismissal of Myers in the 13th over. It was a short ball from Dube and all Myers could get was a leading edge towards Abhishek Sharma at short third. Raza’s departure in the 14th over was the final nail in the coffin. That left Zimbabwe at 87/5, and there was no way back for the hosts in the game.
Earlier, during India’s innings, Samson had his task cut out. India were 38/2 in the fourth over when Samson walked out to bat, and India soon found themselves further in trouble at 40/3 in the fifth over following Shubman Gill’s wicket.
Samson initially took his time to build his innings and played rather cautiously, consuming the dot balls and picking the ones and twos occasionally. Samson had walked out to bat as early as the fourth over, but his first boundary didn’t come until the ninth over, when he came dancing down the track against Raza for a maximum.
Despite that six, Samson continued his balancing act between taking singles, consuming those dot balls and finding occasional boundaries. A couple of sixes against Brandon Mavuta in the 11th over further boosted Samson’s confidence, and he eventually got to his fifty off 39 balls, with a brace off Raza in the 17th over. The 29 year-old was involved in a 65-run stand with his Rajasthan Royals teammate Riyan Parag for the fourth wicket, which helped India gain momentum.
Among the bowlers, Mukesh was the standout performer. The 30 year-old proved his worth with figures of 4/22, striking twice in the powerplay as well as in the death overs. Tushar Deshpande finished with figures of 1/25, whereas Abhishek (1/20), Dube (2/25) and Washington Sundar (1/7) were equally impressive.